when should I start tomato seeds, I live in zone 5??????

[raspberryred]

When should I start my tomato seed indoors, as I live in zone 5, omaha nebraksa????????

[rainbowgardener]

You can look up on-line when your average last frost date is, if you aren't familiar with it. Plant your tomato seeds 8 weeks ahead of that date.

Here's a site where you can put your zip code in and it tells you average frost dates:
https://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/

It is a nice one because it gives you the different probability dates

So the top data line says spring 32 deg. The headings across are 10% 20%, 30%.... 90%.

For me the 90% date is April 6. That means 90% of the time there will still be a freeze after that date. The 10% date is May 3. That means only 10% of the years will there be any frost after that date.

But those are based on over 100 years of historical data. In these global warming times, the probabilities are changing. I used to go by the 50% last frost date, but I'm moving towards 60% or more...

[lily51]

I am in zone 5 in Ohio, so there may be a correlation here for you, there may not. The tomatoes are raised in my greenhouse, so where yours are being grown will affect results .

Last year I started my Pato tomatoes on march 10and it was perfect for containers.
Seeds for Tomatoes to transplant into garden were sown on April 4; I know people who started theirs later.
You Could sPace out your planting over a few weeks and compare results.
And of course, there's that one variable over which we have no control..the weather.